Cypriots patient as banks reopen

PATIENT Cypriots formed orderly queues and waited in the sun for their banks to reopen after nearly two cash-starved weeks.

Despite fears of a bank run that led the island to impose harsh capital controls, some Cypriots were even depositing money instead of withdrawing it following the closure of the banks on March 16.

The calm held despite some branches opening later than the scheduled time of 10am, with packs of foreign journalists, who in some cases outnumbered those in the queues, showing more signs of agitation than the locals themselves.

Kyriakos Vourghouri, owner of a minimarket, waved a yellow deposit slip showing an amount of 678 euros ($869) as he emerged from the bank.

"I didn't withdraw any money. I deposited money," he said. "The problem is not in Cyprus, it is in Europe, which has become gangrenous."

Dozens of people queued outside the banks in Nicosia for about an hour before the opening time, which was finally announced late on Wednesday after repeated delays while Cypriot authorities tried to avert financial meltdown.

Banks posted armed guards outside many branches while tellers, who unlike in other European countries are not housed behind glass security, urged customers not to vent their frustrations on them.

Guards dished out Greek-language copies of a decree issued by Finance Minister Michalis Sarris, which imposes limits on how much of their capital they can touch, including a daily 300 euro withdrawal limit.

The calm after the storm defied the sombre predictions of one Cypriot queuing outside a branch of Laiki, or Popular bank, which will be wound up as part of the bailout deal Cyprus negotiated with its creditors.

"It will be a very bad day - there will be swearing and a lot of anger," Philippos Philippou, an unemployed electrician wearing a purple sweatshirt, said outside Laiki in Nicosia's Makarios Street.

But when he emerged from the bank along with his mother, Mr Philippou flashed a smile and said: "There is confidence, everything was fine."

Around 30 people queued up outside the branch, many of them women in comfortable walking shoes ready for a long wait.

A bearded man, wearing a blue sweatshirt, who would not give his name, said: "I will take all my money slowly, slowly."

Depositors face severe restrictions to prevent a run on the banks that could wreak havoc on the island's already fragile economy but most put on a brave face saying there was no point in queuing when the amounts involved were so small.

"I'm not going to the bank today. I have to be in the shop these hours. There's going to be queues so I'm not going to spend so many hours there to get 300 euros," said Roula Spyrou, 50, a jewellery shop owner.

But along Makarios Avenue, where many designer shops and cafes have closed in the past months as the island's debt crisis intensified, stores remained mostly empty on Thursday.

Under a deal agreed in Brussels on Monday, Cyprus must raise 5.8 billion euros to qualify for a 10-billion-euro bailout from the "troika" of the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Depositors with more than 100,000 euros in the top two banks - Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Laiki - face losing a large chunk of their money. Laiki will be wrapped up and largely absorbed by the larger BoC.

Many customers were angry with the EU - and particularly its economic powerhouse Germany.

"Yesterday my house, tomorrow your house," said one man.

"It's not the European Union, it's a German union to destroy us, everyone wants to destroy Cyprus," said Giorgiano, a kiosk owner.

"It's the first time I feel like this since 1974," he added, referring to the occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish troops.

An elderly man with white hair added: "I have a Mercedes but from now on I will never again buy anything from Germany."

Mr Vourghouri predicted that Germany will be the biggest loser because Chancellor Angela Merkel "ignited the fire."

"Look on the streets and you will see that 70 per cent of the cars are Mercedes and BMWs. People will stop buying them and dealerships will close one by one," he said, adding he too will stop buying German products. "From now on I will buy from Afghanistan or Nicaragua if I have to."

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